Reduction in Risk and Insurance costs
Whether you contract with a cleaning service or hire personnel yourself, with manual cleaning there are costs for labor, equipment, materials and insurance. There is also a risk of damage to the solar panels as well as injury to personnel. These risks are reflected in workman’s compensation insurance and insurance costs for vehicles and property damage to your solar field.
To avoid potential damage to glass and to allow cleaning products to work properly, it is advisable to do cleaning during the hours of darkness. This avoids cleaning products from frying on contact with hot glass. According to some manufacturers, there is also a risk of micro fractures to the glass by putting cool water on hot panels. While we are not sure about the risk of micro fractures, we do know that failure to allow the cleaning product to work when immediately dried onto the panel is not a good idea.
The Heliotex System is fully automatic and operates during the hours of darkness when the panels are not producing electricity and are cool. This allows the soap concentrate to lay on the panels and work to loosen any accumulated dirt and debris. A rinse cycle occurs after a short period of time to remove any dirt and debris loosened by the concentrate.
Note here that the key to keeping solar panels clean is simply to not allow them to get dirty. It makes it easier to clean as well as avoiding daily fractional power loss due to accumulation of dirt and debris.